Anne
by 07654
Summary: Francis and Mary play with their daughter in the castle grounds - I've never written 'fluff' before so don't judge me too harshly!


**I'm missing Reign so much and the Frary angst cliff hanger is still making me sad :( So i figured I'd write a slightly happier AU fic seeing as all we really want is for them to have a baby!**

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Anne**- **French spelling of English Ann meaning Favor and grace. An answer to prayer.

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The tiny princess hurtled down the open lawn, newly visible now the thick layer of snow had subsided. Her hair, blonde and thick with ringlet curls that hung around her waist now flew widely as she ran towards her parents, the hem of her burgundy dress picking up moisture from the wet grass as she went.

Mary watched as her husband rose from his spot next to her and jogged to meet the girl, picking her up easily as though she weighed no more than she did at birth. He swung her around before slotting her onto his shoulders and began to run in circles, spurred by the child's gleeful screams. This place had once held such sad memories of Portuguese princes and desperate, sad kisses stolen against the leafy floor, but now it was the sight of happiness. The young queen couldn't help but laugh when the little girl grabbed two tufts of his blonde hair and yanked them like reigns, Francis' run became a gallop and Mary thought it was almost time to get Anne riding real horses, something she could inherit from her parents. She'd had a young, white stallion picked out for her since the day she was born. The pair began to slow, Francis slid the girl off his shoulders and held her tightly against his chest, cradling her like he did when she was a baby despite her being almost 4. He buried his face in her curls, the same way he so often did to Mary, and whispered something that caused the princess to nod and begin wriggling in his arms. Once released she ran towards her mother, arms outstretched. A smile spread across Mary's face as she embraced the princess, a smile that was rarely absent on her face these days, the stresses and arguments of her marriage to Francis seemed so distant now, Anne was so much more precious than any of that. She stroked the child's face, noticing the streaks of dirt across her cheeks and smiling: she reminded her so much of herself as a child.

''You're all dirty,'' she said softly as Francis took his seat next to her under the tree, ''What have you been up to?''

Anne's face swelled with guilt, her bottom lip jutting out slightly as her eyes grew wider, ''Me and Christophe...were playing, I'm sorry mama''

Mary laughed gently and pulled the child onto her lap, placing a kiss into her blonde curls and leaning her cheek against her head, arms threading around her waist. Christophe was Sebastian and Kenna's second son, born just weeks after Anne. Mary had lost count of the amount of times livid servants and angry matrons come to her with complaints of the girl and her sort-of cousin running wild, dirtying their fanciest garments and leaving their chambers littered with duck feathers after a pillow fight. Mary could never find it in herself to scold her, she reminded her so much of herself.

Satisfied that Mary's smile meant forgiveness, the girl leapt up from the seat of her mothers lap and ran to the side of a small pond, inspecting something on its surface and babbling to herself in her own language.

''You better watch she doesn't fall in,'' Francis jested. Mary had almost forgotten his presence, she was always so captivated by their daughter. She laughed lightly before turning her head to meet his gaze, ''It wouldn't be the first time.''

Francis' arm encircled her waist and she drew into him, her head leaning into it's place on his shoulder. Their bodies were moulded to suit one another after 5 years of marriage, their hands almost felt empty without the others laced through them and her arms felt the chill without his pressed against it as they eat or met with courtiers. His hand absent mindedly stroked her hair and she sighed deeply, breathing in and out. His scent of pine and fresh grass lingered and interlaced with the light freshness of the spring evening. Times like this were the ones she held the closest to her heart, now Francis was king he was almost always busy with meetings about economics and strategy and his face was so often creased with worry and stress. In these few hours they occasionally stole between meetings and meals, out in the gardens with just their baby and themselves, she delighted in seeing the anxiety melt from his face to be replaced by an easy grin. Even their sun filtered, lazy mornings of kissing and whispering and delicate touches had to be cut short these days, their duties pulling them from their chambers earlier and earlier as time passed.

But here, here she could be happy and free, with her little princess running wild and her husband clutching her tightly to his side. He pressed a kiss into her temple and his lips began to wander across her face, along her jawline and down her neck. She fought her eyelids from fluttering shut and batted him away softly, secretly glad that even after these years they were still just as enchanted with each other as they were when they met. With mock disapproval on her face she nodded towards the little girl teetering on the edge of the pond, seconds from falling head first. Francis groaned before kissing her chastely on the lips and hopping up to gather his daughter into his arms and tickling her stomach.

He set her down on the ground by Mary and assessed the scene before him, his wild Scottish queen and even wilder daughter, the perfect mix of France and Scotland with soft blonde curls and deep chocolate eyes.

''Let's get back to the castle,'' he said, almost disappointed to burst their little bubble, the short time where he could be just a boy and she just a girl, he reached for Anne, ''we should probably get you fed.''

Mary stood, brushing the dirt from her black skirt and smoothing down her hair. She took one of Anne's hand and Francis took the other. As they walked they swung her between them, Anne's gleeful laughs filled the air.


End file.
